As the anticipation for The Hunger Games movie was building, I found myself at the same
position I was in before the first Twilight
movie was released. I had heard great
things about the books and wanted to read at least the first one before I saw
the movie. So, in suit, I read the first Hunger
Games book before the movie, and was pleasantly surprised. The book, I must
say still, provided a greater fulfillment (as I think written stories do
anyway). However, it got me thinking back to our class discussion concerning
the different mediums of story-telling. Dr. Redick was careful to remind us
that movie and books should not be compared due to their mediums. He mentioned
that it was unfair to say “The book was better than the movie”, for example,
because the movie inherently would have features all its own that the book
would not be able to do. Likewise, the book would have unique characteristics that
a movie would not be able to match. Still, I found myself, once again, sucked
into the realm of young adult fiction, and thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Suzanne
Colins created a story which may seem strange on the surface, but with a little
digging, becomes familiar. Similar to Lewis’ character Orual in Till We Have Faces, Katniss Everdeen
(the heroine) challenges traditional sex/gender stereotypes. However, whereas
Orual seems to lose all of her desirability and attractiveness, Katniss is
admired as a “tough girl”—pretty, but dangerous. The female heroine has the
same features as a male hero, but reading the story in her voice makes the
story even more engaging. Collins, like Lewis, mixes science fiction and
fantasy/myth to captivate an audience and keep them coming back for more.
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